Experience the ultimate dance-sampler of what’s new and bold. Eight rising Philly choreographers have been commissioned to stage eight major new works for the Festival. Come see their creations in four separate programs: Megan Mazarick and Meg Foley (Program A—see below), Olive Prince and Shavon Norris (Program B), Daniele Strawmyre and Jaamil Olawale Kosoko (Program C), Jumatatu Poe and Eun Jung Choi (Program D).

Program A

Neon Gothic
Megan Mazarick

“I am interested in having a body buried onstage—bodies covered in black dirt—and the way we are fascinated and repulsed by dead flesh."
Megan Mazarick, choreographer of Neon Gothic

A decomposing body exists among the living. The corpse is repulsive, but also beautiful, and occasionally good for a laugh. Neon Gothic channels Southern gothic literature to create a landscape of life and death and a large mound of dirt mixed with perverse humor. An earthy, bygone era intersects with a rude neon veneer as the performers struggle through the absurd predicaments of their flawed lives.

Choreographer Megan Mazarick Performers Megan Mazarick, Ben Asriel

To read blog articles about this artist, click here.

Match vs. Match
Meg Foley (Moving Parts)

"I want to implicate the audience—especially their own bodies."
Meg Foley, choreographer of Match vs. Match

How many parts are you composed of? How about now? Match vs. Match pulls apart a dance while putting it back together, in a relentless search for identity and connection. A trio of dancers attempt to cross the distances inside themselves and between each other, taking the audience on a journey that is by turns intimate, disturbing, and playful.

Direction and Concept Meg Foley Set Carmichael Jonez Choreography and Performance Meg Foley, Greg Holt, Christina Zani

Post-show discussion moderated by Craig T. Peterson, director, Live Arts Brewery (LAB), following the performance on September 7.

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Meg Foley is a Philadelphia-based dance artist and director of Moving Parts, concerned with work that is both somatically oriented and visually organized. Her work is grounded in the body, in the real, in the meaty stuff that, in her words, "holds the stuff of being alive." She seeks out the things that make you giggle, give you goosebumps, make you nauseaus, or make you cry. Foley has danced with Nichole Canuso Dance Company since 2006. She was a member of Beast Productions and collaborated with Devynn Emory from 2005-2009, and currently works with Lisa Kraus. Foley was educated and in?uenced by the good people at Scripps College and Laban Centre London.

Megan Mazarick is a choreographer, performer, and teacher working in Philadelphia. She received an MFA in choreography from Temple University and a BFA in dance from University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Her work has been presented in New York, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Virginia, and Australia. In addition to creating her work, Mazarick performs and tours with BoanDanz Action (Philadelphia), Anonymous Bodies (Philadelphia), and DanceTactics (New York). She is an adjunct faculty member at Temple University where she has taught courses in modern dance technique, contact improvisation, repertory, and several core classes. She has also taught master classes and repertory work at Duke University, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and Drexel University.